Court, Mental Illness and the 'New American Tyranny . . .'
I am a Professor of Applied Ethics, and I also teach Religion. It is as a scholar that I enter any political debate, and as such, the debate that should be immediately started on the Progressive Left side of the Political Spectrum (of which I am a member, but as a "Pro-Life" Catholic Christian) is what to do about court involvement with and support of the modern practice of psychiatry? Take this recent example as a paradigmatic vignette of a nation slouching towards judicial tyranny. Brian Sterner, a quadriplegic who had been a victim of police brutality (i.e. the infamous Tampa, Florida "dumping from his wheelchair" incident) is now being required by Circuit Judge Robert Foster to undergo a psychiatric evaluation (Tampa Bay Times, March 19, 2008, p. 7). Not only was a handi-capped man arrested on charges of "fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer" (I am not sure how a man in a wheelchair could be such an elusive target!), but now after being arrested, and being dumped forcefully from his wheelchair, he is yet again the target of (now) judicial assault! Does this sound anything like the Nazi era in Germany? Not only did Nazi euthanasia-minded physicians begin with the physically or mentally handi-capped (i.e. the first stages of the Holocaust!), but now this poor man who is seeking to defend himself in court is being subjected to an arbitrary pseudo-scientific academic discipline known as psychiatry! Just as French Post-Modern Philosopher Michel Foucault accurately described the historical slide into tyranny of the post-enlightenment West (i.e. birth of modern prisons, birth of the modern understanding of mental illness . . .), and just as the Soviet Union and contemporary Communist China have utilized 'mental illness' to silence religious practitioners and political dissenters, apparently in the good old U.S.A., this same abuse of power is now happening! Whereas we the people of the United States of America believe in Natural Rights (Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Religion), the new modern 'religion' of humanistic psychology (and psychiatry, its evil twin cousin!) are being forced, by court order even, upon an unsuspecting American public! Barack Obama, John McCain, are you hearing this? Obama recognizes the reality of racism, and McCain similarly suffered at the cruel hands of the communist Viet Cong (5 and 1/2 years as a P.O.W.), but now whether the new President is Obama or McCain, what EITHER man must now do is to withstand this domestic assault on our freedom as a nation state! We the People of the United States of America! This includes the BLACK MAN OR WOMAN! This includes the quadriplegic! ALL life is EQUAL in the sight of GOD! Maybe this new 'religion' of psychotherapy should be OUTLAWED from receiving ANY state support on Constitutional grounds! From ADHD to attacking crippled people, this is the legacy of the religion called modern western psychology, and like the abusive Chinese communist regime, or the former Soviet Union, this state-supported 'religion' of psychotherapy is being used to SILENCE ANY DISSENT. Senate Judiciary Chair, Patrick Leahy, are you listening? Not only do we Progressive Democrats need to clean up the abuses to freedom in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (outlawing habeas corpus, admitting circumstantial evidence in court), but now we must safeguard ALL U.S. Citizens from this NEW FORM of TYRANNY! Blessings in Christ Jesus, the Incarnate LOGOS, Rob J. King--RobJKing 20:25, 19 March 2008 (UTC) Category:Essays